CES 53’s Hilarie Rose blossoming into top New England female fighter

Before Hilarie Rose looks for her third straight stoppage victory against Jenna Serio at CES 53 on Nov. 2 in Lincoln, R.I., the top New England prospect caught up with FightBookMMA.

What did you take away from your professional MMA debut?

I think I took a lot out of it. I was super-nervous for my pro debut. I wasn’t mentally prepared. I was prepared to fight, I was just nervous about making my debut. I learned that I needed to work on my mental game. I was prepared physically and was in great shape, but wasn’t prepared mentally. I learned that in my pro debut and I was able to work on that and build my confidence.

Was there ever a time where you questioned if professional MMA is what you’d like to pursue after starting out 0-1?

No, not at all. I think it was a good way to get a loss out of the way. I don’t think anyone wants to start their professional career on a loss, but it drove me to want to work harder and focus on things I needed to focus on. If anything, it made me better. I was ready to fight more. I never thought about giving up fighting.

How do you feel about your current win streak?

It feels good. I fought two girls with losing records which doesn’t mean anything. You can’t judge a book by its cover. I was confident going into both fights and felt I could win easily. I felt really prepared for both fights, no matter where they went. I felt confident that I was going to win. Even though this girl is super-tough, I’m confident that I’m going to win. But I don’t think it’ll be as easy of a win as the others.

How important is it to finish these fights?

I think it’s very important. As a female, you want to put on a show for all of the fans. As womens’ MMA is rising, that’s what the top promotions are looking for: they’re looking for girls who can finish and win fights through knockouts and submissions. Going into any fight, I want a finish– no one wants to leave a fight up to the judges. It’s very important. The more finishes I can get, the tougher the fights are going to get – but the more exciting the fights are going to get as well.

How many more fights until you’re in the UFC?

I’m not sure, maybe a few more and that opportunity will present itself. I try to stay ready at all times. You never know when that opportunity will come – I could get a phone call tomorrow and they could ask me to fight. It’s more about staying ready and being prepared if that opportunity is to arise.